Schools

Presenting Plainview's Class of 2011

In moving, dignified ceremony, more than 400 graduated Sunday; most are headed for college.

More than 400 young men and women graduated from Plainview JFK High School Sunday in a moving, dignified ceremony at the Tilles Center filled with sentiment about the past and advice for the future.

The Class of 2011 processed onto the stage to Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance," wearing their sea blue caps and gowns before thousands of applauding well-wishers. When they left that stage Sunday, they were graduates, setting off on the next phase of their education.

School Board President Gary Bettan's opening speech set the tone. He quoted hockey great Wayne Gretsky, saying: "You miss every shot you don't take."

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Salutatorian Ari Turkiewicz spoke of being second. He then made the point that effort was far more important than numerical rank: "I felt this immense pressure to excel in academics," he said. "...But you don't necessarily have to be the best to succeed."

Plainview JFK Principal James Murray recounted the numerous achievements of members of the Class of 2011. He  told the graduates that "where ever you go, you can always come home."

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Valedictorian Andrew Ren relayed his writer's block as he tried to draft his speech. He said he spent a lot of time "creeping" on his Facebook friends before deciding on a message. That message was: 

"Resolve now to embrace the future, because the future begins now."

School Superintendent Gerard W. Dempsey spun a long-term perspective on Sunday's graduation: "Education," he said, "is a life-time enterprise that is a hallmark of who we are as a people."

Then, their names were read and the graduates were handed their diplomas. When the last name was read, the young people moved their tassels from right to left. They had graduated. 

The Plainview JFK band played a recessional, and the graduates marched out into their future.


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